Just tank already.

[hands11]

We're past the point of tanking now.

I guess...??? If only your in complete denial like Ted, Ernie & the gang.

I think it should be obvious that this playoff run is built on a flimsy deck of cards. First card being Nene, second & third cards being a role playing FA having a career year and another 30 yr old FA making a strong case as the best backup C in the NBA that unfortunately has to start for us.

This is not sustainable beyond this season... Were clear a lottery team in the West. No question about that. We'd be a rebuilding team in the West. I love to hear an argument against that notion. The only reason this whole playoff edict wasn't laughed away early on is the current state of competition in the East. So what happens next season after the oldest collection of talent in the league (sans Wall & Beal) gets a year older & more broken down while the rest of the East takes a collective step or two forward?

Ariza is unlikely to have another career year next year. Gortat isn't getting any better. Webster's health is of constant concern. Nene's downward decent is obvious to anyone that watches him... he's only going to decline further from here on out. Lord only knows what Porter or Rice can do, Wittman certainly doesn't want to risk his future trying to find out. Beyond that, and a 37 yr old backup PG, were built around two players... John Wall, a 23yr old all-star quality player but not a franchise changer (yet) and Bradley Beal, a 20 yr old, still struggling mightily to find his comfort zone in the league and still more potential than production at this stage.

You say tanking isn't an option anymore but yet our talent base is so shallow with just Wall & Beal. We aren't a young team trying to improve. We've turned into an old team, led by Wall with Beal being dragged along as a not-quite-ready-for-primetime player.

And thats were you lose me. It was never supposed to be sustainable. It was supposed to get Wall and Beal playoff experience without creating long term cap problems. So that

1) They get legit experience in what the game is really like. Regular season is nothing.
2) Repair the franchises standing to land a big name FA like a KD, or LeBron, or whoever makes the list next mostly likely in 2016

Granted. EG sucks at drafting and he has let lots of assets slips through his fingers. It because of that, they had to go all in. They couldn't let Wall go another year without getting that playoff experience.

The sad part is mostly this years draft. You can blow one draft..2011. But you can't blow two in four years. They could have achieved the same goal they are and had Len, or Noel, or Burke, or CJM or Adams, etc on the roster. They could also have a Wolters, or P Jackson, Ryan Kelly or even Kendall Marshall.

But this things is going to get rebuilt around Wall and Beal in two years. That was always the case unless someone they drafted worked out big time. When they go for that big name FA, its going to take a lot of cap and Wall, Beal and that player will each up most the cap so they have to fill in around them.

The franchise was digging out of a huge hole of long term dysfunction under Abe for 20 year, capped off by Gil and changing ownership. It wasn't a normal rebuild. And they only have EG.. an average GM at the helm.

Its going to take a little time. A new GM next year. A new HC. And a mid level reboot in two years. Seem like that has been the path for a while.

[stevemcqueen1]

San Antonio doesn't have a Durant or LeBron any more and they SHOULD have won the championship last season. Indy didn't have a superstar last season and they came within a hair of beating Miami and going to the Finals. And even though George has blown up this year, they got him with the 10th overall pick. He wasn't a Durant/LeBron coming out of college.

Those teams built something good. It took a long time for Indy. They toiled around 40 wins for a while until they finally had it come together this season and they are absolutely contenders now.

You have to build a winner. You don't tank and go from awful to 50 wins in one season. We're past the point of tanking now.

Come on steve, SAS has 3 hall of famers! It doesn't hurt that their coach is one of the best ever either.
My point is I'm happy with competitive basketball. I think we can make some noise this season, but until we get that all time elite player, I don't see us winning a ring.

Would you trade Wall or Beal for any of San Antonio's HoFers right now?

None of those guys were top ten players last season, but they came together as a team and were dominant. They aren't top ten, maybe not even top 15 players this season and they're still winning 70% of their games.

Paul George and Roy Hibbert aren't all time greats but they've got a great team.

There are pretty much two teams in the league right now with a future All Timer playing at an All Timer level and there are a lot more than two contenders.

Look at how close teams like Indy and Memphis have come to the Finals. Look at that rag tag Island of Misfit Toys Dallas team that won the championship in 2011. Look at that aging San Antonio team that had a five point lead with six seconds to play in a closeout game six against a Miami team that flirted with a 30 game win streak that season.

You can win and contend if you build a great team even if you don't have an NBA Mount Rushmore candidate in his prime. But you've got to build it up the long way, continuously adding good players that play a role very well and have it all come together for you. I absolutely believe we can build a contender around Wall and Beal.

[FAH1223]

San Antonio doesn't have a Durant or LeBron any more and they SHOULD have won the championship last season. Indy didn't have a superstar last season and they came within a hair of beating Miami and going to the Finals. And even though George has blown up this year, they got him with the 10th overall pick. He wasn't a Durant/LeBron coming out of college.

Those teams built something good. It took a long time for Indy. They toiled around 40 wins for a while until they finally had it come together this season and they are absolutely contenders now.

You have to build a winner. You don't tank and go from awful to 50 wins in one season. We're past the point of tanking now.

Come on steve, SAS has 3 hall of famers! It doesn't hurt that their coach is one of the best ever either.
My point is I'm happy with competitive basketball. I think we can make some noise this season, but until we get that all time elite player, I don't see us winning a ring.

Would you trade Wall or Beal for any of San Antonio's HoFers right now?

None of those guys were top ten players last season, but they came together as a team and were dominant. They aren't top ten, maybe not even top 15 players this season and they're still winning 70% of their games.

Paul George and Roy Hibbert aren't all time greats but they've got a great team.

There are pretty much two teams in the league right now with a future All Timer playing at an All Timer level and there are a lot more than two contenders.

Look at how close teams like Indy and Memphis have come to the Finals. Look at that rag tag Island of Misfit Toys Dallas team that won the championship in 2011. Look at that aging San Antonio team that had a five point lead with six seconds to play in a closeout game six against a Miami team that flirted with a 30 game win streak that season.

You can win and contend if you build a great team even if you don't have an NBA Mount Rushmore candidate in his prime. But you've got to build it up the long way, continuously adding good players that play a role very well and have it all come together for you. I absolutely believe we can build a contender around Wall and Beal.

Duncan averaged 18, 10 and nearly 3 blocks in under 30 minutes. He was first team all NBA

Tony Parker was in the MVP conversation until he had an injury hampering his play.

I'd say they were top players last season. They aren't as good this year though

The ceiling of this team is the playoffs this year and they'll struggle to keep Ariza and Gortat without overpaying.

A new GM and HC is badly needed and Ted won't get that unless this team misses the postseason.

[AFM]

San Antonio doesn't have a Durant or LeBron any more and they SHOULD have won the championship last season. Indy didn't have a superstar last season and they came within a hair of beating Miami and going to the Finals. And even though George has blown up this year, they got him with the 10th overall pick. He wasn't a Durant/LeBron coming out of college.

Those teams built something good. It took a long time for Indy. They toiled around 40 wins for a while until they finally had it come together this season and they are absolutely contenders now.

You have to build a winner. You don't tank and go from awful to 50 wins in one season. We're past the point of tanking now.

Come on steve, SAS has 3 hall of famers! It doesn't hurt that their coach is one of the best ever either.
My point is I'm happy with competitive basketball. I think we can make some noise this season, but until we get that all time elite player, I don't see us winning a ring.

Would you trade Wall or Beal for any of San Antonio's HoFers right now?

None of those guys were top ten players last season, but they came together as a team and were dominant. They aren't top ten, maybe not even top 15 players this season and they're still winning 70% of their games.

Paul George and Roy Hibbert aren't all time greats but they've got a great team.

There are pretty much two teams in the league right now with a future All Timer playing at an All Timer level and there are a lot more than two contenders.

Look at how close teams like Indy and Memphis have come to the Finals. Look at that rag tag Island of Misfit Toys Dallas team that won the championship in 2011. Look at that aging San Antonio team that had a five point lead with six seconds to play in a closeout game six against a Miami team that flirted with a 30 game win streak that season.

You can win and contend if you build a great team even if you don't have an NBA Mount Rushmore candidate in his prime. But you've got to build it up the long way, continuously adding good players that play a role very well and have it all come together for you. I absolutely believe we can build a contender around Wall and Beal.

Well of course I wouldn't, because Wall and Beal are 23 and Duncan is nearing 40. No one would.
Would Duncan and Parker beat Beal and Wall 2v2? Yeah of course.

[stevemcqueen1]

Come on steve, SAS has 3 hall of famers! It doesn't hurt that their coach is one of the best ever either.
My point is I'm happy with competitive basketball. I think we can make some noise this season, but until we get that all time elite player, I don't see us winning a ring.

Would you trade Wall or Beal for any of San Antonio's HoFers right now?

None of those guys were top ten players last season, but they came together as a team and were dominant. They aren't top ten, maybe not even top 15 players this season and they're still winning 70% of their games.

Paul George and Roy Hibbert aren't all time greats but they've got a great team.

There are pretty much two teams in the league right now with a future All Timer playing at an All Timer level and there are a lot more than two contenders.

Look at how close teams like Indy and Memphis have come to the Finals. Look at that rag tag Island of Misfit Toys Dallas team that won the championship in 2011. Look at that aging San Antonio team that had a five point lead with six seconds to play in a closeout game six against a Miami team that flirted with a 30 game win streak that season.

You can win and contend if you build a great team even if you don't have an NBA Mount Rushmore candidate in his prime. But you've got to build it up the long way, continuously adding good players that play a role very well and have it all come together for you. I absolutely believe we can build a contender around Wall and Beal.

Well of course I wouldn't, because Wall and Beal are 23 and Duncan is nearing 40. No one would.
Would Duncan and Parker beat Beal and Wall 2v2? Yeah of course.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Wall is the best player of that bunch.

But the point is, it's been a long time since Duncan was in his prime and Parker is on the other side of his prime now. It's been a long time since Duncan was a top five player. And you could argue that Goran Dragic was more deserving of a spot on the AS team than Parker was this season.

And yet they really should have won a ring last season and their still winning over 70% of their games. That's about the Spurs being a great team. They're a lot more than the sum of their parts. When we build our team, that's our goal. Not sucking continuously until we luck into a talent like LeBron or Durant.

[Dat2U]

And thats were you lose me. It was never supposed to be sustainable. It was supposed to get Wall and Beal playoff experience without creating long term cap problems. So that

1) They get legit experience in what the game is really like. Regular season is nothing.
2) Repair the franchises standing to land a big name FA like a KD, or LeBron, or whoever makes the list next mostly likely in 2016

Granted. EG sucks at drafting and he has let lots of assets slips through his fingers. It because of that, they had to go all in. They couldn't let Wall go another year without getting that playoff experience.

The sad part is mostly this years draft. You can blow one draft..2011. But you can't blow two in four years. They could have achieved the same goal they are and had Len, or Noel, or Burke, or CJM or Adams, etc on the roster. They could also have a Wolters, or P Jackson, Ryan Kelly or even Kendall Marshall.

But this things is going to get rebuilt around Wall and Beal in two years. That was always the case unless someone they drafted worked out big time. When they go for that big name FA, its going to take a lot of cap and Wall, Beal and that player will each up most the cap so they have to fill in around them.

The franchise was digging out of a huge hole of long term dysfunction under Abe for 20 year, capped off by Gil and changing ownership. It wasn't a normal rebuild. And they only have EG.. an average GM at the helm.

Its going to take a little time. A new GM next year. A new HC. And a mid level reboot in two years. Seem like that has been the path for a while.

Huh, how in the world do land a big name free agent when the PLAN is to make the playoffs now and re-up Ariza & Gortat so we continue down this path?

A new GM & coach? You sure about that? Seems like the PLAN is to reward Ernie & Witt for accomplishing the singular goal this season, make the playoffs.

When it all collapses at some point in the near future, it won't be a mid-level reboot. Especially if were completely capped out with a bunch of 30 yr olds and only one sure quality asset (Wall) and possibly two (Beal).

We keep going down this road with Ernie, eventually were going to be talking about an upset Wall wanting a trade & having to do a complete rebuild in another 2 years.

[Dat2U]

If Ernie keeps running the show and he keeps Witt and they do Ernie and Witt things this summer and the Wiz get hit with some injuries, I do see the potential for the team to crash and burn and end up back in the lottery next year. But if we can get the right leader in place who makes some smart moves and hires the right coach***, I think this team has significant upside.

***Look at the jobs guys like Carlisle, Casey, Hornacek, etc are doing. Look at the fact that Randy Wittman refuses to try Ariza at the 4 for 5-10 mpg, even though we have a glut of wings, along with the fact that we have an offense that continues to unrepentantly engineer bad shots.I think part of our upside lies in the fact that better coaching will make a material difference.

If we make the playoffs, why wouldn't Ernie get to keep running the show?

I agree a new coach & GM could make a massive difference and change things around quickly, especially prior to Ernie doing any further damage this off-season, but IMO, the chances of Ernie being replaced are quite small. Ted isn't firing him for making a mess of the backup PG situation. Especially if he hasn't fired him for any other reason. As long as we have 2 guaranteed playoff games at home and the fans are showing up at home games, Ted has little impetus to make a switch. In fact, I think his ego won't let him appease the critics and die hard fans who have been calling for George McPhee & Ernie for years. I honestly think this franchise would literally have to go down the toilet on and off the court or have another gun-gate type episode for Ernie to get canned.

[Illmatic21]

If Ernie keeps running the show and he keeps Witt and they do Ernie and Witt things this summer and the Wiz get hit with some injuries, I do see the potential for the team to crash and burn and end up back in the lottery next year. But if we can get the right leader in place who makes some smart moves and hires the right coach***, I think this team has significant upside.

***Look at the jobs guys like Carlisle, Casey, Hornacek, etc are doing. Look at the fact that Randy Wittman refuses to try Ariza at the 4 for 5-10 mpg, even though we have a glut of wings, along with the fact that we have an offense that continues to unrepentantly engineer bad shots.I think part of our upside lies in the fact that better coaching will make a material difference.

If we make the playoffs, why wouldn't Ernie get to keep running the show?

I agree a new coach & GM could make a massive difference and change things around quickly, especially prior to Ernie doing any further damage this off-season, but IMO, the chances of Ernie being replaced are quite small. Ted isn't firing him for making a mess of the backup PG situation. Especially if he hasn't fired him for any other reason. As long as we have 2 guaranteed playoff games at home and the fans are showing up at home games, Ted has little impetus to make a switch. In fact, I think his ego won't let him appease the critics and die hard fans who have been calling for George McPhee & Ernie for years. I honestly think this franchise would literally have to go down the toilet on and off the court or have another gun-gate type episode for Ernie to get canned.

The Eastern Conference is awful. Atlanta has lost 8 of 9 and they're still solidly in the postseason. No bonus points are awarded for making the playoffs this year.

Even if Washington hangs on and makes the playoffs, a sub-.500 record would be considered an underachieving mark for this roster. The team has been mostly healthy, we give away a first round pick for Gortat, and STILL lose more games than we win? That isn't going to inspire any confidence.

This is the first season of the rebuild where Ted can actually see the flashes of potential in the team. But there have been so many games lost to poor coaching, there is a clear lack of depth due to a poorly assembled roster, and to cap it off most of Ernie's draft picks have been disappointments or outright failures. Ted will realize that he has a potential profitable asset on his hands that is being mismanaged.

Why wouldn't Leonsis think.. wait a second, if I bring in a new forward-thinking GM (ala Phoenix), and a veteran coach (Karl, Hollins, Van Gundy) now is when we could turn this team into a real player in the Eastern conference and excite the fanbase. Sorry Ernie, but you've gotta go brother.


There is too much upside in letting Grunfeld walk for it not to happen. I know we've all said that before, but it's never been more true than now. We have two young draft picks that will probably pan out quite well (Wall+Beal), and no egregious long term contracts on the books. Now is the time to make some smart moves and rise up.

[mohammed10]

If we make the playoffs, why wouldn't Ernie get to keep running the show?

I agree a new coach & GM could make a massive difference and change things around quickly, especially prior to Ernie doing any further damage this off-season, but IMO, the chances of Ernie being replaced are quite small. Ted isn't firing him for making a mess of the backup PG situation. Especially if he hasn't fired him for any other reason. As long as we have 2 guaranteed playoff games at home and the fans are showing up at home games, Ted has little impetus to make a switch. In fact, I think his ego won't let him appease the critics and die hard fans who have been calling for George McPhee & Ernie for years. I honestly think this franchise would literally have to go down the toilet on and off the court or have another gun-gate type episode for Ernie to get canned.

Dat,

I think Ernie = Jim Haslett. Turd should know by now that he should have that man on a short leash. Ted claims to appreciate the analytics, he merely needs to review Ernie's body of work as GM here, his poor draft decisions and trades to cover up his FA blunders, etc to know that this is not a long term solution.

What troubles me is that George McPhee is still Caps GM, despite being mediocre at best for a number of years. As a Wiz fan, we can only hope that, if he will be here after this off-season, Ernie achieves that same mediocrity.

[The Consiglieri]

I guess every team besides SAS, OKC, IND, and MIA should tank.

They have competent management. The Wizards don't.

The only way we get a CHANCE at competent management is for Ted to clean house.

We know Ernie can't build a 50 win team that can challenge for the title. So why reward mediocrity?

I'd say really the only way to win is to get lucky and draft a Durant, a Lebron, a Duncan, etc.
It's really hard to win without a future HOF on your team. The Pistons of a decade ago come up as outliers.

I agree that Ernie is a terrible GM. But I can't think about this team based on "well, can we win a championship or not?" Totally takes the enjoyment out of following a team if it isn't MIA or OKC. Practically every flub by Ernie means nothing in the face of not having a Durant or Lebron.

One day, we will actually be terrible (and won't need to tank to get #1). And we'll have the #1 pick when there will be a durant or a lebron available at #1. THEN we'll win. Until then I just try to enjoy each game at a time. I never think about a championship, because IMO we won't win one until we luck into an actual game changer (and I like Wall, but he's not good enough).

You're missing the point to me. Most of us aren't pissed that we didn't land a LeBron, or a Duncan, or a Wade, or a Kobe etc during our two trips into worst team in the league territory circa '00-'03, and '08-'13, what we're pissed at is the grand mal incompetence of the F.O., the total lack of accountability of said F.O.'s (other than Jordan's), and the total inability to rebuild properly, decade after decade, when we play ourselves in position to rebuilding the right way.

Few of us automatically expect the team to build a champion, or a multi-champion, the LA, the New York, and the Chicago markets are bigger in terms of media power and sporting relevance, and of course places like Dallas, and Miami have a huge advantage in terms of tax-friendly status for players. What we want, and expect is the team to be committed to building a contender, a team that could, contend for a title, and not be laughed off the stage, but be a legit challenger. Teams like Golden State, Memphis, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, and Indiana have built teams during the past decade or so that fit that bill (or more recently in some cases). Great drafting, great player management, great use of assets, intelligent use of trades, never, or just very rarely looking stupid, instead of consistently getting owned on trades has been their themes.

I think all of us could live with that (or the San Antonio miracle of landing two of the four most talented big men of the past 25 years a decade apart), what we can't live with, is a team that celebrates stupidity, only fires that man who has the least overall impact on the bottom line (the coach forced to make do with sub par talent, and d-league scrubs), and consistently looks for short cuts, and quick fixes that can keep tickets selling, rather than biting the bullet until things are set right.

We all watched this story play out in the second half of the eighties, and against circa '04-'07, and now we're indulging this hellish game plan of building a 40 game irrelevancy for a third time in 25 years. It's not freaking good enough when you've sandwiched a 15 win piece of ---- around the handful of years when the team could win 40-45, and get owned in round 1 of the playoffs, but that's what we're dealing with AGAIN.

And many of us are sick to death of it.

I have no interest in this kind of garbage, in having seen a team completely waste a colossal collection of top draft picks on busts in '09, '11, and perhaps '13, with zero return, and then sell off the most valuable piece since the Wall pick, for a run at looking like a joke in the playoffs. It's despicable treatment of the fans.

Mere competence is not too much to ask of a franchise. Unfortunately in D.C., it's been too much to ask of virtually all the franchises.